1. Technical Field
This invention relates to protective cages and, more particularly, to a protective cage for shielding a user from wildlife threat.
2. Prior Art
Avid outdoorsmen and women around the globe enjoy the freedom and peace they find during their outings in nature. Unfortunately, many individuals are deterred from sharing this joyous experience due to the fear of being attacked by wild animals. For example, in North America the greatest fear comes from bears, in Russia and Asia the people fear wolves and tigers, and in Africa there are lions and leopards, to name only a few.
Although the chances of being attacked by a bear or other such animal while camping are slim, it has happened. Many times those attacks could have been prevented by those persons themselves through simply disposing of left over food in the appropriate manner and through adequate lighting of their campground. As the result of this fear, the individuals that do venture out into the wild find that they are not able to sleep peacefully at night, and thus wake up not fully rested. This can greatly diminish the amount of fun and joy that the person experiences during the day.
Many attempts have been made in the prior art to provide devices and apparatuses that can deter such wild animals. One such an example utilizes a spray of water to scare off animals, but such devices necessitate bringing water lines to the area that needs protection, which is rather difficult, if not impossible, in the wild. Further, water lines are subject to freeze damage in winter, which is a time when many animal attacks occur. A further limitation of such devices is that they will also wet people who might periodically enter the designated area for recreation.
Other devices have heat and motion sensors that activate audiotapes of dogs barking and other noises that are intended to ward off wild animals. Unfortunately, wild animals such as bears and wolves typically habituate to such sounds, eventually overcoming their own fears and thus approach the camp site regardless. Some of these prior devices require a conventional plug-in power source, so are further hampered in their convenience to the user by the need to bring electricity to the device. Both of the above mentioned devices are also limited in the fact that they only protect a certain area, but provide no protection to the actual person that is camping, hiking, etc.
Accordingly, a need remains for a protective cage in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a protective cage that is easy to transport and construct, sturdy in design, and provides improved safety to campers and hikers. Such a protective cage completely encloses the camper's sleeping bag or cot, thus when the user is ready to sleep they simply climb into the cage and lie down. The protective cage fully encloses the user, isolating them from the teeth and claws of wild animals. If an animal does choose to attack, they are further deterred by the spikes positioned on the outside of the cage and pointing towards them. As a result, the camper can relax and rest peacefully, and thus more fully enjoy their outdoors experience.